Drafting a bill’s title is an important task for legislative lawyers. In California, there is the constitutional single-subject rule and so the title of the bill needs to ensure compliance with that requirement. In other words, the title needs to...
Civil Code Section 51.7(a) creates the Ralph Civil Rights Act of 1976, which provides that all persons within the jurisdiction of California have the right to be free from any violence, or intimidation by threat of violence, committed against their...
An important task for the legislative lawyer is to draft bill summaries. In general, a bill summary should be brief, but easy to read and understand. It should provide a succinct, clear, and accurate synopsis of the major points of...
Civil Code Section 52.1(a) created the Tom Bane Civil Rights Act, which provides that, if a person, whether or not acting under color of law, interferes by threat, intimidation, or coercion, or attempts to interfere by threat, intimidation, or coercion,...
The Uniform Law Commission (ULC) (formerly known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws) is a nonprofit association that is comprised of members from each state, and the ULC encourages the uniformity of state laws. The ULC...
Civil Code Section 51(a) created the Unruh Civil Rights Act, which provides that all persons in California are free and equal, and no matter what their sex, race, color, religion, ancestry, national origin, disability, medical condition, genetic information, marital status,...
In reading bills in the California Legislature, you may encounter findings and declarations, or intent statements, or a combination of the two. Which should be given greater weight by the courts? Or are they of equal weight? Does it matter...